Thursday, September 20, 2012

Food Terrorism: American Monsanto's GM Corn caused Tumors in Rats

French scientists have revealed that rats fed on GMO corn sold by
American firm Monsanto, suffered tumors and other complications
including kidney and liver damage. When testing the firm’s top brand
weed killer the rats showed similar symptoms. The French government has asked its health and safety agency to
assess the study and had also sent it to the European Union's food
safety agency, Reuters reports. "Based on the conclusion…,
the government will ask the European authorities to take all necessary
measures to protect human and animal health, measures that could go as
far as an emergency suspension of imports of NK603 maize in the European
Union," the French health, environment and farm ministries said in a joint statement.

Researchers
from the University of Caen found that rats fed on a diet containing
NK603 – a seed variety made tolerant to amounts of Monsanto's Roundup
weedkiller – or given water mixed with the product, at levels permitted
in the United States of Zionism – died earlier than those on a standard diet. The
research conducted by Gilles-Eric Seralini and his colleagues, said the
rats suffered mammary tumors, as well as severe liver and kidney
damage. The study was published in the journal of Food and Chemical
Toxicology and presented at a news conference in London. Fifty
percent of male and 70 percent of female rats died prematurely, compared
with only 30 percent and 20 percent in the control group, said the
researchers. Monsanto spokesman, Thomas Helscher, said the company
would review the study thoroughly but stated that other scientific
studies had proved the biotech crops’ safety.

Some scientists
however criticized the French researchers’ statistical methods and the
use of a particular type of rat, saying the albino Sprague-Dawley strain
of animal had a tendency to develop cancers. But despite
skepticism, the study draws attention to controversy surrounding
genetically modified crops and the USZ biotech giant Monsanto. Michael
Antoniou, a molecular biologist at King’s College London – who acted as
an adviser to Seralini's team – told reporters that the study stresses
the “need to test all GMO crops in two-year lifelong studies”. “I
feel this data is strong enough to withdraw the marketing approval for
this variety of GMO maize temporarily, until this study is followed up
and repeated with larger number of animals to get the full statistical
power that we want,” he said as quoted by Reuters.

Last Friday France said it will uphold a ban on genetically modified crops
produced by the Monsanto. The move came as President Francois Hollande
pushed his plan to put the environment back at the top of the
international agenda. In the wake of the publication, Jose Bove,
vice-chairman of the European Parliament’s commission for agriculture,
called for an immediate suspension of all EU cultivation and import
authorizations of genetically modified crops. “This study finally shows we are right and that it is urgent to quickly review all GMO evaluation processes,” he said following the announcement of the research. While being widely used in the United States of Zionism, GMO crops have been less popular among European consumers, due to concerns about its impact on people’s health and the environment.

In
California, opponents of genetically engineered food are fighting to
have it removed from the food supply. They are also pushing to pass Proposition 37,
a law that would legally require genetically modified foods to be
labeled as such. Monsanto stands opposed to such a proposal and has
donated over $4.2 million to lobby against it. Agriculturalists
across America have previously tried to take the biotech giant to court
over charges stemming from their lab-made corn GMOs. Over 2,000 farmers
have petitioned the USZ government to more thoroughly investigate the
impact that genetically modified corn crop from Monsanto will have on
the country. As RT reported before, Monsanto wants to plant a
corn variant across America’s Midwest that will be resistant to a
powerful pesticide produced with 2,4-D, the same compound crucial to the
make-up of the notorious Vietnam War-era killer Agent Orange. If
approved, the new corn will be able to thrive as farmers douse their
fields in the chemical, killing off unwanted weeds in the process, while
at the same time subjecting Americans to a pesticide linked to cancer
risks.